


Where Angels Dance

by xxxillusionxxx



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/M, I don't know how to tag this really, Little Mermaid AU, Lydia is a sea witch, M/M, Merman Scott, Merman Stiles, captain!Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxxillusionxxx/pseuds/xxxillusionxxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The little mermaid AU that nobody asked for</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I just had to write this even though I didn't want to start anything until I finished Born of Shadows. I hope you like it! All of my works are unbeta'd.

“Stiles, where are you going?!” Scott hissed.

 

Stiles turned to face his best friend, smiling at the pinched look on his face.

 

“Relax, the shore is empty. I’m just going to lie out on the rocks so I can look at the stars for a little while,” Stiles said, swimming closer to the shoreline.

 

Scott shook his head.

 

“I’m going home. If you’re not there in an hour I’m telling your dad where you are,” he said before diving into the water.

 

“Dude!” Stiles called, ducking under the water to watch Scott’s retreating form, “If you tell my dad then I’m going to tell your mom about all the times you made me go with you to see the ships come in!”

 

Scott spun around and stuck out his tongue before diving into the shadows. Stiles rolled his eyes. Scott loved the surface just as much as he did; he just liked to pretend to be a victim of Stiles’s whims.

 

As Stiles got closer to the moonlit sand, he popped his head out of the water to check the shoreline. He saw nothing and he smiled as he got close enough to pull himself onto one of the jetties. Splaying out on his back, he took in the moonlight reflecting off the vast ocean before him.

 

Stiles loved nights like this. His home never looked quite as beautiful as it did right here, where sea met sky. The stars were not so clear and bright beneath the surface, and the full moon distorted in the moving water, but out here, they glowed clear and bright.

 

Out of nowhere, a feeling that he was being watched began to prickle up his spine. Stiles quickly propped his upper body up and twisted to look behind him at the shore. At first he saw nothing, but the feeling was so strong that he couldn’t look away just yet.

 

Suddenly the shadows under the cliff began to shift and two eyes flashed in the moonlight. Stiles gasped and flailed in his surprise, falling into the water with a loud splash. Way to go Stilinski, draw as much attention as possible.

 

The logical part of him wanted to swim back home and avoid the beach for a few days. The much larger and more irrational part of him needed to figure out what was out there. He took a grounding breath and poked his head out of the water just enough that he could see the shore.

 

The black shape was fully out of the shadows now. It sat still until it noticed Stiles in the water and then it shifted, moving closer to the water before stilling again. Stiles stared at those reflective eyes for a few minutes before he ducked back under the water.

 

A mini war raged inside of him. Should he go? Probably. Instead he found himself swimming even closer until the water was so shallow that it was almost uncomfortable to navigate. He popped his head up again and was shocked by the hairy animal in front of him. It looked like the dogs he sometimes saw on ships, but bigger and more feral.

 

When the animal saw Stiles it tilted its head to the side. Stiles mimicked it and it seemed to huff out a breath before moving so close to the shoreline that the water lapped at its feet. Stiles felt excitement fill his body like a flash of lightning. He moved closer, dragging himself with his hands when he could no longer swim, until the beast was only a few feet away.

 

Ignoring the flash of fear, Stiles reached a tentative hand out, very nearly touching the beast but not quite.  The animal’s stare bored into him and he was just about to pull his hand away when it ducked its head and nuzzled into his palm.

 

Stiles beamed as he ran his fingers through lush black fur.

 

“Wow, I’ve never touched a dog before. You’re so soft. I’m Stiles, by the way. I don’t know what your name is. I’m just going to call you Dog. That’s what the humans say. Is that ok?,” Stiles began to ramble to the creature.

 

It—Stiles glanced down quickly— _he_ tiled its head in seeming confusion before licking a stripe up his hand and sitting down in the lapping water.

 

“Oh, yuck!” Stiles whined, shaking his hand and rolling onto his back so he could look at the sky.

 

“I come up here to see the stars and the moonlight on the water. I wonder if you’re here for the same reason? It’s so beautiful. God I wish I could just see this all the time. People up here don’t know how good they have it. Not to say that I don’t love my home. I just wish I could have the best of both worlds, you know?” he said, looking up at the animal.

 

Dog just stared down at him for a moment then leaned in to sniff at his neck.

 

“Haha stop! That tickles!” Stiles shouted, giggling as he tried to push the dog’s head away. The animal ignored his efforts and moved down to sniff at his stomach and tail.

 

“Hey, rude, leave my tail alone,” Stiles complained but he was smiling.

 

Finally Dog backed off and plopped himself down next to Stiles, pressed right against his side.

 

Stiles laughed and laid a hand on Dog, stroking his fur as he gazed at the sky.

 

Stiles must have dozed off because one minute he was counting the stars and the next he was looking into the eyes of the dog as it stood over him. He blinked a few times before realizing that he needed to get home before Scott freaked out.

 

Stiles flailed and twisted as he tried to drag himself back into the water.

 

“Bye Dog! I hope I see you again!” Stiles shouted behind him as he slipped back into the water and swam as fast as his tail would push him.

 -----------------------

“I said an hour Stiles. You’re lucky that I didn’t just go get your dad to make sure you were ok,” Scott complained once Stiles slipped into his room.

 

“Scott, you’ll never believe what happened to me! This dog came up to the water and I actually touched it and it was so soft and…” Stiles began excitedly.

 

“Wait, wait. What? You went all the way up to the beach? What the hell Stiles!” Scott said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

 

“It’s not a big deal, I had a feeling like it was friendly, like it was just as curious as I was,” Stiles said, trying to soothe his friend.

 

“Well it better not happen again. We have rules Stiles, we’re lucky we haven’t gotten caught as it is,” Scott said.

 

“Oh, like you would pass up an opportunity to go meet that girl if she were ever alone at the beach,” Stiles pointed out.

 

As usual, Scott’s eyes went distant and a smiled curled his lips as he thought about the dark haired woman he pined for. It started when they were watching the ships come in and he somehow noticed this one maiden on board. Ever since, he waited to catch glimpses of her at the beach or on the ships.

 

Stiles had noticed someone that day, but it wasn’t Scott’s woman who held his attention. A dark haired man with broad shoulders and a stern face was captaining the ship that day. Stiles wasn’t one to believe in love at first sight, but he could certainly say that that moment marked the beginning of a strong and enduring obsession.

 -----------------------

“Scott duck!” Stiles hissed, grabbing his friend’s hand and diving into the dark water. They only went this close to the ships when the moon was dark and the humans couldn’t pick them out among the churning waves.

 

They swam beneath the ship and surfaced again on the other side.

 

The captain shouted something at the crew member. Stiles and Scott were familiar with the sound, as they had been essentially stalking this particular ship for two years now.

 

The man never smiled, yet for all that he looked like a villain, he was one of the best leaders Stiles had ever seen. He listened to his men and worked with them rather than simply dictating orders.

 

It was clear to him that his men respected him. The crew member shouted something back before getting back to his work and that seemed to be the end of it.

 

“I told you we were way too close!” Scott hissed as they skimmed the surface of the water alongside the ship.

 

“Hey! Look who came out to look at the sea!” Stiles whispered back.

 

Scott’s head shot up and his eyes scanned the deck until he found who Stiles was talking about. Stiles snorted as his friend’s face immediately softened and his lips peeled back into a goofy smile.

 

“You’ve got it so bad, man,” Stiles whispered.

 

He chucked as Scott splashed him and they both ducked down when the sound attracted the girl’s attention.

 

Scott glared at Stiles like it was his fault and Stiles just laughed and shoved playfully at his friend’s shoulder.

 

“Come on, I saw the captain heading to the front of the ship and the girl will probably be heading over to talk to him soon anyway,” Stiles said.

 

Scott pouted but followed him nonetheless as they came alongside the very tip of the ship. Just as Stiles predicted, the girl’s soft voice echoed out across the water as she called out to the man leaning against the edge of the ship.

 

He looked over and waved and the two began speaking to each other. Stiles and Scott watched them from beneath the shadow of the ship, letting the rising and falling tones wash over them and wishing, not for the first time, that they could understand what was being said.

 

The two fell into a comfortable silence after a while and Scott tugged at Stiles’s tail jerking his head back in a silent signal for them to leave. Stiles nodded and followed his friend as they dove down deeper and headed home.

 

After a few miles of silence, Scott sighed heavily. Stiles couldn’t help laughing at his friend.

 

“Dude, she’s not even the same species as you!” Stiles laughed.

 

Scott punching out at his friend. Stiles ducked and darted forward, Scott hot on his tail.

 

“I’m just saying!” he shouted just as his friend managed to catch up and body slam into him, twisting them around in a circle.

 

“It’s not like you’re any better. This all started with you, remember?” Scott argued, but he was smiling.

 

“You know, sometimes I wish we could actually meet them,” he continued wistfully.

 

Stiles nodded then froze as he was struck by an idea. Scott continued on for a bit before realizing he was alone and turning around to find his friend.

 

“Dude, what?” Scott asked.

 

“Scott. Oh my god. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner,” Stiles said, veering away from the city looming before them towards the rocky cliffs lining the border.

 

“Stiles! Where are you going! Wait!” Scott shouted swimming after his friend as fast as he was able.

 

“She could do it. She could totally do it!” Stiles shouted back barely even slowing down before diving past the cliff edge and down into the dark depths below.

 

“Stiles!” Scott shouted, grabbing his friend by the arm and hauling him backwards.

 

“Scott, what?” Stiles whined, trying to pull free.

 

“First of all, what are we doing, and second of all, why does it involve visiting the sea witch because there’s nothing else down there and my mom would literally kill me for this,” Scott said, gripping Stiles’s arm hard enough to bruise.

 

Stiles sighed.

 

“Ok, listen. You want to meet that girl right? Like face to face?” Stiles asked.

 

Scott looked at him suspiciously but nodded his head.

 

“Well if anyone in the entire sea could help us, wouldn’t it be the sea witch?”

 

Scott’s eyes widened and he started shaking his head and pulling Stiles away from the drop.

 

“Scott, we’ve been watching these people for years. Years! Don’t we deserve to know what it’s like to be up there with them? To talk to them and find out why they sail across the sea and what they do when they’re on the land?” Stiles said quickly.

 

Scott paused and loosed his grip. He looked off to the side as he thought and Stiles went in for the kill.

 

“You could see what her smile looks like up close,” he said.

 

Scott’s head shot up and he stared at his friend with wide eyes. Scott waxed poetic about the woman’s smile. Stiles always found it mildly cute and mostly annoying but now he could use that to his advantage.

 

It was a long moment before Scott finally dropped Stiles’s arms and nodded, gesturing for Stiles to lead the way.

 

“My mom is gonna kill me if she finds out,” Scott muttered.

 

Stiles laughed with little humor.

 

“Not as horribly as my dad will kill me, I’m sure,” he said.

 

They were both tense as they drew closer to the caves. It was dark down here, and even with their light-sensitive eyes they could barely make out what was in front of them. Stiles stopped in front of the large cave that (he hoped) housed the sea witch.

 

“This is it?” Scott asked, nerves bleeding into his voice.

 

“One way to find out,” Stiles said lightly and the two made their way inside.

 

The darkness grew thicker until they could see absolutely nothing. Stiles froze and he felt Scott swim right into him.

 

“Oof. Scott, wait, can you see?” he asked.

 

“Nope,” Scott replied, grabbing onto Stiles’s arm with one hand and reaching out with the other, “Just feel in front of you for the wall and we can follow it in a little bit more before going back,” he said.

 

Stiles swam with Scott on his arm in the direction he thought the wall might be in. After a few seconds he felt cool stone against his hand.

 

“Aha! Ok, I got it,” he said.

 

They swam forward a few more feet before the darkness just dropped away and they were hit with a wall of light. The two closed their eyes against it, blinking them open slowly as their eyes adjusted.

 

“Woah,” Stiles said.

 

They were in a large room filled with all sorts of strange items and books. A large bed fit against the back wall and the whole room was lit with ghostly balls of light along the wall.

 

“I’m glad you like it, now what are you doing in my home,” a voice said from an adjourning passage.

 

Stiles braced himself for the monstrous witch he’s heard tales of as a child and was left almost breathless when a beautiful red-haired goddess walked out instead. He’d never seen a merperson with such a tail, tentacled like an octopus, but on her it just seemed right.

 

She smiled devilishly and had Stiles not been so enamored with his captain, he would have fallen in love on the spot.

 

“Uh, um. We just…we were just…” Stiles stammered.

 

Scott rolled his eyes and slapped Stiles hard on the back.

 

“We want to go on land so we can meet humans,” Scott said with a confidence that showed itself only when Scott was truly determined.

 

The sea witch lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

 

“Oh? And why would you want to do a thing like that?” she asked.

 

“Because I’m in love with a human girl,” Scott said firmly.

 

Stiles dropped his jaw. Sure his friend talked about the girl like she was the sun but he never said that he was in love. Can you even be in love with someone you’ve never really met?

 

“Hmm. I’m Lydia. And who might you two young men be?” she said in reply.

 

“I’m Stiles, and this is Scott,” Stiles said, regaining his voice, “So can you help us, Lydia?”

 

The witch smiled and walked up to a shelf of jarred oddities.

 

“Of course I can. The question is: what are you willing to pay to get what you want?” she said, picking various jars off the shelf.

 

“I mean, we don’t have a lot of money but we can work for you or something...” Stiles started but Lydia raised a hand to cut him off.

 

“I don’t need money. I don’t want to beat around the bush. If I do this for you, each of you will give me your most cherished memory,” she said, looking at them, waiting for their response.

 

Stiles tried to think of what his most cherished memory was. It was definitely one of his mother, probably the day she first showed him the shore. She had taken him even though his father was completely against it and whispered in his hair that three worlds met at the shore. She said that angels danced there and that even she and he would dance there one day as angels.

 

Stiles blinked away tears at the thought of losing that moment. That was one of the main reasons he had always been so in love with the beach. Scott looked like he was having his own inner crisis and the silence felt tense and heavy.

 

“Listen,” Lydia said, softening her voice, “Magic cannot happen without a tradeoff. You’re asking for a powerful spell. If you agree, you will be able to walk on land as a human, speak and understand the human languages, and you will be able to return to the sea whenever you wish. It’s not a bad deal; you just have to think about what is more important to you, your past or your future.”

 

Stiles and Scott exchanged a long look before Scott finally spoke up.

 

“I’ll do it,” he said.

 

He didn’t look at Stiles but he grabbed his hand in support. Stiles looked down at their joined hands and thought about why he wanted to do this.

 

“Ok,” he said quietly, then again more loudly.

 

“Excellent,” Lydia said, clapping her hands together, “Now why don’t you both go get something to eat from the kitchen down that hallway while I see about getting this potion mixed.”

 

 --------------------------

 

In the kitchen Stiles and Scott stared into cupboards blindly.

 

“Do you think we’re making the right choice?” Scott asked quietly.

 

Stiles pulled out a greenish plant that he had never seen before. He sniffed at it then put it back.

 

“I don’t know, honestly. I don’t like the price, but I just...I don’t know. Sometimes I just feel like I’m meant to be up there, you know?” he said.

 

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Scott murmured.

 

They lapsed back into silence. Scott finally pulled out a jar of sliced flounder and they sat at the small rock formation that served as a table.

 

“What’s your best memory?” Scott asked, biting off a piece of fish.

 

Stiles looked down at his hands on the table.

 

“The first time my mom took me to see the shore. What about you?” he said.

 

Scott smile ruefully.

 

“The day that my dad said he was proud of me,” he said.

 

Stiles looked up at that.

 

“Dude, you hate your dad!” he exclaimed.

 

“I know,” Scott said quietly.

 

He didn’t elaborate so Stiles let it drop, recognizing a sore subject when he heard it.

 

They ate in silence for a few more minutes until they heard movement coming from the passageway.

  
“Alright boys,” Lydia said lightly, standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, “I’m ready when you are.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I was finishing up another story. Updates on this should be much faster now. Also please remember that all of my fiction is unbeta'd so bear with me on any mistakes or awkward wording.

“You’re both going to need clothing once you change. There will be one clean set for each of you on the beach. There will also be a bowl. Do _not_ lose this bowl. It’s the only way you can communicate with me while you’re on land. Fill it with water and a drop of your blood and you’ll be able to speak with me no matter the place or time,” Lydia said.

 

“Awesome,” Stiles murmured. Scott hummed in agreement.

 

“Now once you’re out of the water your bodies will automatically shift into human form. You will only change back when you are completely submerged in water, so just don’t go swimming or take baths and you should be fine,” she continued

 

“Wait, what’s a bath?” Scott asked.

 

“Aw. I’m sure this will end well for you two,” Lydia cooed.

 

Stiles huffed in offense.

 

“Yes. It will,” he enunciated.

 

Scott was looking at Lydia with wide eyes but he nodded in agreement anyway. Lydia smiled mischievously and looked between the two.

 

“Here, eat this,” she ordered, handing each of them a slimy ball of green goop.

 

“Um, really?” Stiles asked, eying the substance suspiciously.

 

“Yes, really. Then you can leave so I can get back to getting ready to go out.”

 

Scott’s jaw dropped.

 

“You go out?” he asked.

 

Stiles and Lydia both looked at him incredulously. Then Stiles remembered all the stories he’d heard about the Sea-witch and he looked at the woman curiously.

 

“Do you really think someone as fabulous as me sits in a cave all day?” Lydia asked, flipping her hair, “I’m going treasure hunting with my boyfriend. Wrecked ships usually turn up at least one or two magical tokens. Now stop wasting my time and eat.”

 

Stiles and Scott exchanged a look. Stiles took a deep breath and swallowed the goop before the taste could linger on his tongue. Scott obviously didn’t have the same idea because his face was scrunched up and his tongue poked out of his mouth.

 

“Aw, dude. Nasty,” he whined.

 

“Good. Now go. And don’t forget that bowl,” Lydia said, shooing them out of the cave and back into the darkness.

 

They swam back out of the trench and were already halfway back to the beach when Scott broke the silence.

 

“Do you feel any different?” he asked.

 

Stiles took stock of his body and how he was feeling.

 

“No. I feel exactly the same,” he said, disappointed.

 

“Did you lose your best memory?” Scott asked quietly.

 

Stiles frowned.

 

“I feel like there’s a blank spot. When I try to remember, all I know is that I lost something that was very important to me and I don’t know what that is,” Stiles said.

 

“Yeah, same here. I wonder if it was worth giving up. I feel like it was something very beautiful,” Scott replied.

 

Stiles hummed in agreement and they fell silent until the shore came into view.

 

When they spotted the jetties and the rising seafloor they began to feel a buzz of excitement. Stiles started zig-zagging as he swam and Scott moved a little bit faster. They swam as far as they could before they had to just drag themselves up and onto the beach.

 

They sat up at the edge of the water and stared down at their tails. Nothing happened at first and Stiles was just about to say they got duped when he felt like his very bones were stretching. He looked back down at his tail and gasped as his scales turned to skin and his tail separated into two legs.

 

“Sick,” Scott exclaimed, lifting up one foot and wiggling his toes.

 

“Yeah, man,” Stiles agreed, staring in awe as he lifted his legs one at a time and rolled his feet.

 

“Clothes. Lydia said there would be clothes,” Scott said, standing up on shaky legs.

 

He took two steps and fell face first into the sand. Stiles, tried to stand and realized that walking was a lot harder than it looks. He managed to walk without falling, but his steps were careful and so slow that a snail could probably lap him.

 

“I think we need to spend some time practicing,” Scott said, his words muffled by the sand.

 

“You thi…” Stiles started before losing his balance and falling next to his friend. Apparently he hadn’t reached the level of walking and talking at the same time.

=========================================== 

It took them three hours to get the hang of walking. By the time they made it to the pile of clothing set next to the cliff they were covered in sand and completely exhausted. They took turns napping until the sun began to rise.

 

“Alright, time to get moving,” Stiles said, shaking Scott awake.

 

Scott groaned and stretched. Stiles couldn’t help poking at his legs as they stretched apart. Scott swatted his hand away and stood up, brushing the sand off his clothing.

 

“I don’t understand why humans wear this stuff. It’s confining and scratchy,” Scott complained.

 

“Yeah but it’s better than the feeling of sand stuck all over,” Stiles pointed out.

 

He grabbed the small wooden bowl that had been sitting next to the clothing.

 

“Let’s go look for the ship stop. There’s a path up the cliff over there and we can just head east until we find the town,” Stiles said.

 

They found themselves surrounded by trees and plants and chirping birds when they reached the top of the cliff.

 

“Wow,” Scott whispered.

 

Stiles nodded but doubted that Scott was even looking at him when there was so much wonderful green to see all around them.

 

The forest quickly lost its appeal when they realized how frustratingly difficult it was to navigate.

 

Stiles ducked as Scott, yet again, almost hit him in the face with a branch.

 

“Oh my god, we’ve been walking for hours!” Scott whined, “I feel like my feet are bleeding.”

 

“Swimming is way easier than walking, I don’t know why humans just don’t swim everywhere,” Stiles grumbled.

 

Scott froze and Stiles nearly ran into him. He was about to yell at him for stopping short when he heard the sound of laughter.

 

Scott twisted around and smiled broadly, matching his friend’s own smile.

 

“I think we found the town,” Stiles said.

 =====================================

Scott jumped back as another wooden monster—humans called it a “carriage”—went flying down the road, almost running him down.

 

“Jeez,” Scott said, holding a hand over his heart, “Why are we doing this again?”

 

“Remember Scott? Love at first sight and all that jazz?” Stiles said, laughing lightly.

 

Scott grumbled under his breath and they kept moving toward the ocean. People rushed past them and around them and when they turned a corner onto a much larger street, Stiles slapped Scott’s arm and gestured toward the water.

 

“The ships!” Scott said excitedly.

 

The both of them would have run the rest of the way if there weren’t so many people in the way and if they didn’t think they would just end up face-first on the pavement.

 

They finally broke past the main crowd and walked up to a ship that they were very familiar with. They both stared up at it in awe when a large, dark skinned man walked up to them, looking them up and down before resting his arm on the pile of crates beside him.

 

“What’re you two doing?” he asked emotionlessly.

 

They stared at his expressionless face for a long moment, caught up in awe at the fact that they were actually standing so close to the first mate.

 

“Your face looks really different up close,” Stiles said, his mouth disregarding his brain’s filter.

 

Scott slapped him hard on the chest and he coughed.

 

“What my friend is trying to say is that we want to join your crew,” Scott said, smiling like he hadn’t just incapacitated his friend.

 

The man looked back and forth between the two of them, his eyebrow raised. They stood in tense silence for a long moment before the man shrugged.

 

“Wait here,” he said.

 

He grabbed the top crate of the pile and walked back up the gangplank to the ship. Stiles and Scott turned to each other beaming.

 

“Dude, what the hell came out of your mouth?” Scott asked quietly but he was smiling.

 

“I don’t know! I’m just so excited! Dude, it’s _right here_!” Stiles hissed flailing his arms.

 

“I know; it’s so unreal,” Scott whispered back.

 

They whispered excitedly for a few minutes before Scott tapped insistently on Stile’s arm.

 

“Dude, look who it is!” he hissed.

 

Stiles turned his head and his jaw dropped. The first mate was walking down the gangplank with the captain right behind him. _The captain_.

 

Stiles was suddenly very worried that he might faint.

 

“These are them,” the first mate said gruffly when they were close enough to speak.

 

The captain looked sternly down at Scott, looking him up and down skeptically. He turned his attention to Stiles and his face lit up in surprise. Stiles closed his gaping mouth self-consciously. He probably looked a little bit crazed the way he was staring wide-eyed at the man, but he couldn’t help it! From far away, the captain was beautiful; up close, the man was _hot_.

 

“Boyd, bring both of them on board. Show them around and explain what their duties will be,” the captain said after a moment of silence, “I’m going to talk to Finstock about the shipment.”

 

Stiles turned and watched the captain’s retreating form. He had no idea how he was going to be able to actually form words around the man but he wanted to figure it out fast. Boyd cleared his throat and Stiles twisted back to face him, blushing slightly.

 

“Each of you grab a crate and follow me,” he said, grabbing a crate himself and walking back to the shift.

 

Stiles and Scott scrambled to follow. The crates were surprisingly heavy and it was kind of difficult walking up a gangplank without being able to see your own feet. Stiles stumbled onto the ship, almost dropping his crate in the process.

 

Boyd turned around and stared at him stonily before moving again, this time towards a doorway at the back of the ship. Stiles looked around the ship in wonder. The crew members were nowhere to be seen but the ship looked so different up close. Everything was so much more large and wonderful than he imagined.

 

Boyd led them down a set of stairs and then into a trap door that led to a stock room of sorts. They left the crates and Boyd climbed back out.

 

“That was the hold,” Boyd said matter-of-factly.

 

He walked down the hallway, pointing out rooms as he passed.

 

“That’s the crew’s quarters. There’s only room for one of you in there right now, so the other will have to sleep elsewhere for now,” he said, not even turning around to make sure he was being followed.

 

Stiles looked over at Scott who was biting his lip and looking at him with worry.

 

“Up there,” Boyd continued, stopping by the main stair case, “is the galley.”

 

Boyd turned to face the two boys.

 

“Both of you will be sharing the role of ship’s boy,” he said, “Mostly, you will be cleaning, doing repairs, or helping the rest of the crew with their work. One of you will help in the galley while the other will help on deck. It’s up to you who does what.”

 

Scott and Stiles looked at each other.

 

“Where’s the rest of the crew?” Stiles asked.

 

“They’re out in the town. We’re going to be at sea for a while so you should both finish any lingering business before we leave,” Boyd answered.

 

“What’s the captain’s name?” Stiles asked quickly.

 

Boyd tilted his head but responded without missing a beat.

 

“Derek Hale runs this ship. You can refer to him as Captain Hale. You’ll meet the rest of the crew as they come in tonight. We leave first thing in the morning so be ready or we’re leaving without you.

 

 =======================================

When Boyd left, Stiles and Scott went straight to the crew’s quarters and went to sleep, too tired to worry about whose hammocks they were using.

 

Stiles jerked awake when he felt a pinch on his arm and tumbled onto the floor, his leg twisted in the hammock.

 

“Hey cutie, what’re you doing on my bed?” a blond woman with golden eyes asked, smirking.

 

“Um,” Stiles said intelligently.

 

He heard a thump on the other side of the tiny room and saw that Scott had run into a similar problem.

 

“Sorry, we were just exhausted. I’m Stiles,” Stiles said, standing up.

 

The girl tilted her head and held out her hand.

 

“Erica Reyes,” she said as he shook her hand, “The captain is looking for you.”

 

Stiles raised his eyebrows and looked past Erica to Scott. A young man with tousled blond hair and a mischievous smile slid up next to Erica, blocking his view.

 

“Don’t worry about Scott. We’re going to get him settled down here. My name’s Isaac, by the way,” he said, offering his hand.

 

“Stiles,” he replied, shaking his hand hesitantly.

 

“Captain’s quarters are up the main staircase and to the right of the door to the deck,” Erica said, smiling and shooing him out the door.

 

Stiles was in the hallway before he realized what was happening. He blinked at the shut door then looked down at the bowl he managed to grab before being shoved out of the crew’s quarters.

 

He was excited to see the captain again, but he wanted to check in with Lydia and now was the perfect opportunity. Stiles rushed to the galley and filled his bowl with water, grabbing a knife on his way out.

 

He walked up the main staircase, careful not to let the water spill. Gravity was really a bitch.

 

He glanced at the captain’s quarters before walking out into the night. He followed a narrow strip of deck to the back of the ship. He looked around carefully. He couldn’t see anyone and the upper deck blocked him from view of the town.

 

Stiles sat down on a pile of tangled ropes and placed the bowl down carefully. He pulled the knife out of his pocket and pressed the tip against his finger hard enough to draw out a drop of blood.

 

He watched the blood diffuse into the water, waiting for something to happen.

 

“Stiles, good to see you haven’t gotten yourself killed yet,” Lydia said, smirking up at him from the water’s surface.

 

Stiles rolled his eyes.

 

“We’re not as pathetic as you think we are,” he said.

 

“Of course not,” she said, but her smirk didn’t slip, “I assume you want me to inform your families about your little adventure?”

 

Stiles winced at the reminder.

 

“Yeah. Tell them we’re fine and we’ll be checking in with you as often as possible. Hopefully they’ll forget how much they want to kill us by the time we get back,” he said.

 

Lydia laughed.

 

“Stay out of trouble,” she said before her image rippled and disappeared.

 

Stiles dumped the water over the railing and turned around to leave. He froze when he realized he wasn’t alone.

 

“Wait, Dog? Is that you?” he asked.

 

The dog tilted his head and walked closer, sitting down just out of Stiles reach.

 

“Oh wow, it is you!” Stiles enthused, sitting down next to the animal and running his fingers through his fur, “Oh my god! I didn’t know you were on this ship! That’s so weird! You must have been one of the dogs I’ve seen before!”

 

Dog sniffed at Stiles’s neck and Stiles giggled.

 

“Did you notice that I have legs now?” Stiles said, falling onto his back and kicking his legs up and down.

 

Dog took the movement as an invitation to sniff at his legs.

 

“That tickles! Stop it!” Stiles said laughing, pushing Dog’s head away from his body.

 

“Oh,” Stiles said, sitting up, “I’m supposed to go talk to the captain. We can talk later.”

 

Dog huffed and ran back the way he came. Stiles giggled to himself, thrilled that Dog would be on the ship with him. He put the wooden bowl under his arm and headed back to the captain’s quarters.

 

He stood in front of the imposing wooden doors working up his nerve. He had a hand lifted to knock when the doors flew open.

 

Stiles blinked at the captain, slowly lowering his hand.

 

“Erica said you were looking for me?” Stiles said hesitantly.

 

The man nodded and gestured for him to come inside.

 

Stiles’s eyes flitted around the spacious room. There were maps and books spread out on a large table in the center of the room, a full wall of books, and unique looking objects scattered about the place. He was about to go explore everything when the captain cleared his throat.

 

Stiles turned around, blushing. The captain looked stoic, but patient, not angry.

 

“We don’t have enough hammocks to go around and I don’t tend to make my crew sleep on the floor, so for now you can sleep here,” Derek said, gesturing to the room.

 

Stiles’s blush heated all the way to his ears.

 

“There’s a couch you can sleep on for now. We’ll see about rearranging the crew’s quarters in a few weeks when we dock at Absolom,” Derek continued.

 

“Oh, okay,” Stiles said, both relieved and extremely disappointed that he had misunderstood the man.

 

He thought about what it would be like to see the man while he slept and when he first woke, sleep-mussed and dressed down. Did he even wear clothes when he slept?

 

Stiles realized he was smiling hard enough to make his face hurt and tried to school his expression into something less creepy. He wasn’t sure if he succeeded but Derek was smiling slightly at him so he took that as a good sign.

 

“I’m going to be going over some paperwork but I’ll just leave the desk light on so you can go to sleep if you want to,” Derek said before suddenly frowning, “Is that the only set of clothing you have?”

 

Stiles looked down at himself.

 

“Yeah,” he said, because he didn’t know what else to say.

 

Derek walked over to a dresser covered in baubles and came back with a plain white tunic and soft suede pants.

 

“Wear these for now and we’ll get clothing for you and Scott tomorrow before we leave,” he said, handing over the clothing, “There’s a bucket of water and soap in that room if you want to get cleaned up.”

 

Derek pointed to a door at the corner of the room. Stiles looked down at the clothing in his hands and back toward the little door.

 

“Um,” Stiles said, at a loss for words, “thanks.”

 

He rushed off to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He felt the soft material in his hands and he smiled to himself. He thought about contacting Lydia again just to gush but figured she wouldn’t be as excited about it as he was.

 

He walked over to the bucket of water and put down his bowl and clothing. He picked up a bar of soap and looked down at himself. How the hell do humans clean themselves?  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who works in the galley? 
> 
> I love merman!Stiles so much that I literally wish it was cannon. Then he could use all his awesome water-based abilities to help out the Beacon Hills wolves. And there could be pack trips to the beach. Can I just live in that reality please?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a nice long chapter to make up for how long it took me to get it out! Thanks for everyone who's been commenting on this! I'm glad I'm not the only one who desperately needed a little mermaid AU.

Derek stared down at the boy sprawled haphazardly on his couch. Skin peeked through the twisted blanket and his head lay half off the edge. It didn’t look comfortable at all but somehow the boy was still fast asleep.

 

After seeing the mermaid—merman?—at the beach all those weeks ago he had made it a point to go back every night he could to see if he could catch a glimpse of the creature again. He looked through all the lore he could get his hands on but there was very little information to be found aside from the captivating nature of their songs.

 

And Stiles had a beautiful voice. When he spoke on the beach his every word spilled out like a happy melody. Derek regretted that he had no idea what he had been saying.

 

He had given up trying to find the merboy when he showed up right there on the dock, looking for work. Derek was torn between wild confusion at his appearance and absolute joy that he was there and speaking a language that Derek could understand.

 

He elected not to tell Boyd and the others about Stiles—and presumably Scott—until he could figure out how and why he was here. He doubted the secret would last though; it’s hard to keep something like that from a ship full of werewolves.

 

Stiles made a quiet sound and his breathing picked up as he drifted back to consciousness. Derek thought about moving away so that Stiles wouldn’t catch him watching him, but he honestly just didn’t want to.

 

Stiles blinked his eyes open, staring at the ceiling in confusion for a few moments before looking around the room. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Derek and widened comedically. Derek snorted as Stiles shrieked and fell off the couch.

 

“Oh my god. Um, sorry, hi,” Stiles said quickly, standing up with his arms flailing as he tried to keep his balance.

 

Derek suppressed the smile he felt tugging at his lips.

 

“Good morning, Stiles,” he said sternly, “I trust you slept well.”

 

“Yeah, uh, yeah I did,” Stiles said, still a little disoriented.

 

Stiles blushed as his stomach growled loudly.

 

“Sorry, I haven’t eaten anything since the day before yesterday,” Stiles said, frowning down at his stomach.

 

Derek felt a pang that he’s completely forgotten to get them food the other night. Typically the crew ate in the town when they were docked but there was really nothing typical about his new ships’ boys.

 

“Put on your shirt and follow me to the galley. The rest of the crew should be there anyway,” Derek started walking toward the doorway and he heard Stiles rush to follow.

 

 =====================

“What do people eat…on ships, I mean,” Stiles asked once he managed to catch up.

 

Derek smirked. He wondered what Stiles would have done if he’d ended up on a different ship.

 

“We have gruel and bread for breakfast,” he said without turning around.

 

“Oh,” Stiles said, sounding no less confused.

 

As soon as they got to the galley Stiles grabbed Derek’s jacket and tugged until he stopped. Derek looked back, glancing between the hand on his jacket and the boy holding him.

 

“Captain Derek, what’s her name?” Stiles whispered pointing across the room to the girl sitting next to Scott.

 

“Allison. Why do you know her?” Derek asked.

 

“Allison,” Stiles said, rolling the name across his tongue.

 

He darted into the galley and toward Allison and Scott before Derek could say anything else. He stared after the boy and shook his head, meeting Boyd’s questioning glance and waving his hand dismissively. This was definitely going to be an interesting trip.

 ====================

Stiles slid to a halt in front of his life-long friend. He stared wide-eyed at Scott who hadn’t turned away from the girl sitting beside him.

 

“You must be Stiles,” Allison said, smiling.

 

Stiles shifted his attention to her and smiled, bright and genuine.

 

“It’s so great to meet you!” Stiles said enthusiastically.

 

His stomach growled again and his face heated. Allison’s smile grew and she stood up.

 

“Here, I’ll show you where the food is,” she said, walking over to the counters across the room, “One of you will be down here helping me so it’s good to get to know where everything is now.”

 

Stiles gaped at the back of her head before grinning.

 

“I think Scott would be perfect for the galley. I’d be better off with more sun anyway,” Stiles said brightly.

 

Allison scooped a thick white substance into a bowl and handed it over to him with a squishy brown rock.

 

“He seems like he’d be good help,” she said, heading back to the table.

 

Stiles looked down at the food in his hands before following her. The white stuff didn’t smell like fish and the squishy brown rock wasn’t like any coral he’d ever seen.

 

When he sat down next to Scott he was about to taste the white stuff when Scott elbowed him in the side.

 

“Dude, use the spoon,” he whispered, nudging the silver object on the table.

 

Stiles picked up the ‘spoon’ and looked at it curiously. He dipped it into the white goop and scooped some out. He sniffed it and took a bite before he could change his mind. It wasn’t like anything he ever tasted. It wasn’t horrible either.

 

He finished off the bowl in less than two minutes, scarfing down the ‘bread’ once he realized it actually tasted pretty good. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he ate and he was glad when Allison took his bowl and came back with a second helping.

 

 ===========================

“Hey newbie, how’s it going?” Erica asked, leaning against the railing and smiling down at Stiles.

 

“I think I’ll probably be able to get this rope untangled sometime in the next century,” Stiles said bitterly, working desperately at the mess in his hands.

 

“I was the one who had to do all your chores before you got here so I feel your pain,” Erica said, “Come on. Isaac and I are going to get something for lunch; you should take a break and join us.”

 

Stiles shaded his eyes against the sun and looked up at her. He still couldn’t get used to how bright it was above the water.

 

“Is it gruel and bread?” Stiles asked.

 

Erica laughed lightly.

 

“Nah. Allison usually makes stew for lunch,” she said, walking back towards the main deck.

 

Stiles scrambled to follow her. When they opened the door to the galley, Stiles was assaulted with a rich smell he couldn’t place. He spotted Scott sitting on a stool at one of the counters, peeling the brown skin off of a white plant, smiling all the while as he spoke with Allison.

 

Stiles wanted to pump his fist into the air in victory because he honestly never imagined that this would go so well. Scott and Allison really seemed to be getting along which was more than he could have hoped for.

 

“Hey Stiles, how were your sleeping accommodations last night? The captain didn’t intimidate you did he?” Isaac said as soon as Stiles sat down in the chair that Erica ushered him into.

 

Stiles looked to Erica for help but she just snorted and walked away.

 

“Uh, it was fine,” he said.

 

Isaac’s smile grew wider and he looked down at his hands like he was in on some joke that Stiles was missing.

 

“We don’t get new crew members…well, ever. So I can’t help but be curious about you. Where are you from?” he asked, resting his face on his hands.

 

Stiles tried desperately to remember what humans called the different land masses.

 

“I’m from Island,” Stiles tried.

 

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

 

“What island?” he asked.

 

“It’s far away. You probably haven’t heard of it,” Stiles said, noting his error.

 

“Try me,” Isaac pressed.

 

Erica returned with food for herself and Stiles, saving him from having to respond.

 

“So Stiles, did you and Scott grow up together? You don’t look related,” Erica asked.

 

“We’re not, but he’s like a brother. My dad and his mom were always really close so we spent more time together than apart,” Stiles said.

 

“What happened to them?” Isaac asked.

 

Stiles’s eyes widened.

 

“What do you mean?” he asked.

 

Erica narrowed her eyes, looking Stiles up and down.

 

“Why did you want to join our crew? Most people who go to sea do so because they have no family or no prospects at home,” she said.

 

Stiles nodded because in a way, he and Scott had abandoned their parents for this adventure.

 

“Me and Scott used to watch the ships come and go. We fell in love with this ship in particular and really just wanted to be a part of it,” he said, shrugging, “When we go back, Melissa and my Dad are going to kill us.”

 

Isaac and Erica laughed. Erica slapped Stiles playfully on the back.

 

“Well I hope the trip is worth it,” Erica said, her laughter dying down but her smile growing wider.

 

“I think you’ll fit in well here,” Isaac said, nodding at Stiles.

 

Thankfully, the subject moved away from Stiles and on to their past voyages and the backgrounds of the various crew members.

 

Stiles learned that Boyd was quiet most of the time, but apparently had a soft spot for Erica. He learned that Isaac came from an abusive household and that the twins, Aiden and Ethan were the only survivors of a raid in their tiny village.

 

Isaac talked a lot about the captain. Apparently he came from a prominent family, all of whom were killed in a fire years ago. Without any family left, Derek had gathered up the crew, all of whom were similarly isolated or alone, and spent his fortune on constructing a ship and beginning business as a merchant.

 

The ship was called La Luna and Erica and Isaac spoke of it almost as if it were a living, breathing thing.

 

“She’s a real beauty, ain’t nothing like her in the seven seas, I’ll tell you that right now,” Erica gushed, “I can see why you wanted to join her crew so badly.”

 

“Hey, stop messing around and get back to work!” one of the twins said, ruffling Erica’s hair.

 

Erica huffed and fixed her hair, pouting.

 

“What’s up new kid?” the other twin asked, stepping next to his brother.

 

“I’m Stiles,” he said, trying to figure out how he was going to tell them apart.

 

“I’m Aiden, and this is my brother Ethan,” the first twin said.

 

Ethan winked and Stiles blinked because he could have sworn that his eyes just glowed blue. Was that a human thing?

 

Aiden, Erica, and Isaac were all looking at Stiles intently like they were waiting for something. He squirmed and stood up.

 

“Well I’m going to get back to that rope if anyone needs me…” he said, making a run for it.

 

When he saw all of them again that night for dinner it was like nothing happened. They were all friendly and loud and Stiles thought it couldn’t get any better than this until he remembered that he would be spending the night in Derek’s room.

 

 ===================

Derek was surprised to find his couch empty when he woke up. Stiles had been getting better at waking up on a schedule in the last two weeks, but Derek always woke up before him. Curious as to where he could have gone, Derek splashed his face with water and changed before heading out onto the main deck.

 

Sure enough, there he was, leaning against the railing, looking out over the sea. Derek walked up next to him and followed his gaze to the hazy shoreline they sailed towards.

 

“What are you looking at?” he asked after a few moments of uncharacteristic silence.

 

“I’m looking for angels,” Stiles said, turning his face toward Derek and smiling.

 

Derek raised his eyebrows. Stiles had spoken to him a lot about his mother and father and his home and adventures with Scott when he was in wolf form in the past few weeks, but he had never mentioned anything about angels before.

 

“Angels?” Derek asked.

 

Stiles smiled and looked longingly toward the shore.

 

“Angels dance on the shoreline. I always used to go to the beach with Scott to look for them when I was little,” he said wistfully.

 

“I’ve never heard that before,” Derek said.

 

“Neither had Scott. Actually,” Stiles said, suddenly frowning, “I don’t remember why I started saying it either. It always felt very important though.”

 

“Hmm,” Derek hummed.

 

After a few moments of silence he added, “It’s a beautiful thought.”

 

Stiles looked up, a surprised smile twisting his lips.

 

Derek turned away as he felt his face heat suddenly.

 

“Come on, let’s eat. We should be docking soon,” he said.

 ===========================

Stiles and Scott were buzzing with energy as they docked at Absolom. They helped carry crates off of the ship before Boyd waved them off.

 

“Go have fun with Isaac, Erica, and Allison. The twins can help me get this cargo where it needs to go,” he said.

 

Isaac and Erica led the group, seemingly familiar with the bustling town. Allison trailed back with Scott and Stiles.

 

“We should stop at the market before we leave. There are some interesting vendors and it’s a good place to spend some of the wages you earned,” Allison said cheerfully.

 

“Oh,” Stiles said, struck with an idea, “What do dogs like?”

 

Allison looked at him with wide eyes.

 

“Dogs?” she asked.

 

“Yeah! I want to buy something for the black dog on the ship,” Stiles replied.

 

“Black dog huh,” Allison said, narrowing her eyes, “If you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about, then anything unique would catch his eye. And he’s actually a wolf, not a dog.”

 

“Is a wolf a type of dog?” Scott asked curiously.

 

Allison looked back and forth between Stiles and Scott, appearing equal parts curious and uncomfortable.

 

“Yeah, in a way. Wolves are larger and more feral than dogs typically are,” she said slowly.

 

Stiles almost ran into Isaac when he stopped suddenly

 

“Here we are!” Erica sing-songed.

 

Stiles peered around Isaac to look at the small wooden building.

 

“Dude,” Scott moved closer to Stiles and hissed into his ear, “It says ‘bath.’ Remember what Lydia said?”

 

Stiles met Scott’s worried eyes and looked back at the building. Sure enough, a small sign above the door read “bath house.”  


“Let’s go,” Erica said, gripping Stiles by the bicep and dragging him into the dimly lit front room.

 

He looked back and saw a nervous Scott being ushered in by Allison’s cheerful smile. Isaac walked up to the tall counter and slammed some coins down. The bored looking woman behind the counter waved them in without even looking up from her book and Stiles found himself dragged into a humid room thick with steam.

 

“Ever been to a natural hot spring before?” Isaac asked, shedding his shirt and laying it down on a bench before working on the laces of his trousers.

 

Stiles stared at Isaac with wide eyes, not because he was getting naked—Stiles had never worn clothes before going on land—but because he finally figured out what ‘bath’ meant.

 

“Um,” he said nervously, glancing at the pool of water at the center of the large room, “I just totally realized that I forgot something really important on the ship. And Scott needs to come help me get it, right Scott?”

 

“What?” Scott said, his eyes locked on Allison as she shed her clothing.

 

Stiles slapped Scott on the arm and gestured around the room. Scott, finally taking in his surroundings, looked panicked and started backing towards the exit.

 

“Yeah, so we’ll just meet up with you all later…” Stiles was cut off when Isaac wrapped and arm around his shoulders and guided him back toward the benches.

 

He looked back and saw that Scott was similarly trapped by Erica.

 

“Aw, boys, don’t be shy,” Erica cooed, pulling Scott’s shirt over his head, “It’s a small ship, we’re bound to see your junk eventually anyway.”

 

“That’s not…” Scott started helplessly but stopped before he could dig himself into a hole.

 

Stiles stood still, desperately trying to find a way out of this, as Isaac stripped him out of his clothes.

 

“Alright, let’s go!” Isaac said, pushing Stiles towards the empty pool.

 

“You guys are going to love this,” Allison assured as she stepped into the water.

 

“It’s tradition,” Erica added as she dragged a reluctant Scott behind her.

 

Stiles felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest and the air became harder to breathe the closer he got to the water. His body moved on auto pilot as he took the first step into the water. He gasped. It was warm.

 

“Told you,” Allison said from the other side of the pool, her grin just visible above the water.

 

Stiles walked the rest of the way into the pool before he could even think about it. He heard a strangled noise coming from someone behind him—probably Scott—but he couldn’t help himself. The water came up to his belly button when he reached the bottom step.

 

He reveled in the comforting feeling of water embracing his body. The warmth was unfamiliar but oddly pleasant and his eyes slid shut as he lost himself in the sensation.

 

“Ahh, I always miss this place when we leave,” Erica said, slipping past Stiles to sit on the ledge cut into the stone surrounding the spring.

 

Stiles snapped out of his reverie. He looked back at Scott who had gotten into the pool and was staring down at his legs in awe. That was when he realized that he was still standing.

 

“Whoa, so I guess it’s only if we’re fully submerged,” he mumbled to himself.

 

He stumbled and almost lost his footing when a heavy weight draped over his shoulder.

 

“What’re you mumbling about, Stiles?” Isaac asked, smiling slyly with his arm slung over Stiles’s shoulder.

 

Stiles panicked and flailed his arms to keep from falling under the unexpected weight.  He accidently splashed Erica who sputtered and lunged forward, shoving his head under the water before he could yell to stop her.

 

He felt himself shift. His gills opened and his legs rejoined and suddenly the warm water was far too hot for comfort. Despite the burning he felt against his skin and eyes, Stiles stayed still. He felt paralyzed, too afraid of the repercussions of the others finding out about him and Scott to worry about the pain.

 

Holy shit, what would Derek do when he found out? Would he kick them off the ship? Hate them for lying? Would he kill them? Stiles’s mind swirled with the possibilities, each one worse than the last.

 

He stayed curled in on himself under the water until a firm grip on his arm dragged up and out of the water. Stiles had a half formed apology at the tip of his tongue when his head broke the surface and he heard singing.

 

Scott’s singing, to be more exact.

 

He blinked the water out of his eyes and looked around. Erica, Allison, and Isaac all slouched where they stood, eyes relaxed and unfocused as they listened to the melody.

 

Stiles breathed a sigh of relief. If Scott managed to weave his spell fast enough, they wouldn’t have seen anything at all in their dream-like states. Scott urged Stiles towards the edge of the pool with his hands, gesturing for him to hurry up.

 

Stiles nodded and made it up to the stairs as quickly as he could. As soon as he pulled himself all the way out of the water his tail began to morph back into the legs he had grown used to in the last few weeks.

 

He sighed heavily and froze when he heard a tiny gasp from behind him.

 

Stiles slipped into the water—water just made him feel safer, ok?—and spun around to face whoever had seen him.

 

A small girl stood in front of him. She couldn’t be more than eight or nine. Her thin eyes were wide and he mouth hung open in astonishment.

 

“Um, hi,” Stiles said awkwardly.

 

He panicked when he realized that he no longer heard Scott’s song and the others must be conscious.

 

The girl’s lips pulled back into a huge smile and she pointed a thin finger at Stiles.

 

“You’re a ningyo!” she shrieked happily.

 

Stiles’s eyes went wide and he held up his hands, trying desperately to quiet her down.

 

“No, you’re mistaken! Shouldn’t you go back to your parents?” he said quickly.

 

The little girl shook her head, her black curls bouncing around wildly.

 

“I don’t have parents, ningyo. Why aren’t you out in the ocean? Oh, are your friends ningyo too? Does it always smell like fish in the ocean? Can I see your tail again?” she spoke so quickly Stiles almost couldn’t keep up.

 

“Wait, did you say you don’t have parents? Who takes care of you?” Stiles asked, registering what she had just said to him.

 

The little girl shrugged indifferently.

 

“The villagers give me food and the nice old lady who owns the hot spring lets me sleep here if I clean up after myself,” she said simply, “Your friends are staring at us.”

 

Stiles felt a spike of fear jolt down his spine. He almost forgot where he was and who he was with. He turned around slowly. Scott’s eyes were wide and frightened, as he’d expected, but the others were looking at him in confusion.

 

“Um,” he said, not sure how to explain himself.

 

“You speak the native language?” Erica asked, sounding both surprised and impressed.

 

“You don’t look like you’re from Absolom. Where did you learn the language?” Isaac added.

 

“Do you speak it too?” Allison asked Scott, inching closer to where everyone was gathering to stare between Scott and Stiles.

 

“Uh,” Scott answered before looking desperately toward Stiles.

 

“Hello. My name is Kira. What is your name?” the little girl raised her voice and said slowly.

 

“Oh my god, she is too cute,” Erica gushed.

 

“Kira, do you speak English?” Allison asked just as slowly.

 

Kira looked up like she was trying to gather her thoughts together.

 

“I speak English, some. Um,” she looked down at Stiles and whispered, “Can you ask them if I can see their tails too?”

 

Scott coughed loudly and Stiles winced at her words. He couldn’t tell the difference between her words and the words his friends used but somehow they were two different languages. They shouldn’t have understood that last part.

 

“Kira, listen,” he said, praying that he was speaking the right language, “My name is Stiles and that’s my friend, Scott.”

 

He pointed to Scott who waved his hand hesitantly. He smiled when Kira waved back with enthusiasm.

 

“Me and Scott are ningyo, but it’s a secret. The rest of my friends are human and we don’t want them to know about us. Can you promise not to tell them?” he continued.

 

Kira looked at Stiles seriously for a moment before picking up one of his hand in her tiny ones and staring deeply into his eyes.

 

“I promise, ningyo…I mean Stiles,” she said, blushing at her slip up.

 

“Thank you, sweetie,” Scott said, coming up beside Stiles and smiling at the little girl.

 

Kira looked at Scott with wide eyes, her face flushing, and Stiles could already see where this was going. Kira dropped Stiles’s hand abruptly and scurried away from the pool to the front of the bath house.

 

Scott looked at her retreating form in bewilderment, frowning.

 

“Did I do something?” he asked.

 

Stiles laughed.

 

“I think you found yourself a girlfriend, buddy,” he said, slapping Scott on the back.

 

Scott looked at him with wide eyes then looked back at Allison like he had somehow betrayed her. She smiled back at him and giggled at the little girl’s reaction and he relaxed enough to smile.

================================== 

When Stiles explained (some) of what the little girl had said to him the others had all agreed that they couldn’t just leave the girl here. Isaac in particular had been adamant that they bring her back to La Luna.

 

Kira hadn’t been hard to persuade. As soon as Stiles offered her a place on the ship she had practically burst with excitement.

 

“Oh my god, a real ship! We can go to the ocean? I’m gonna go on an adventure! Oh, am I gonna be a pirate? Are you guys pirates? Wow, will I be able to help on deck? I always watched the ships coming and going and I feel like I could learn what they do. Are you gonna…”

 

Scott had eventually stopped her with a sweet smile that left her silent and breathless.

 

“I think you’re gonna love it,” he said and she nodded silently, her cheeks slightly flushed.

 

Convincing Kira to join the crew was one thing, convincing the captain to take a nine year old girl who barely spoke English onto his ship was a whole other story.

 

The twins met Kira first. They laughed for a solid five minutes when Allison told them their plan but fell silent when Kira leaned across the table to touch their faces in awe, asking them questions in broken English about why they looked the same.

 

By the end of dinner, Ethan and Aiden were trailing along with team Kira to go find the captain. Boyd found them first. He took one look at Kira and raised his eyebrows.

 

“Kitsune, huh?” he muttered.

 

Scott and Stiles looked at each other in confusion but the others all appeared surprised and were looking down at Kira with interest.

 

“Kitsune?” Scott asked, but Boyd brushed him off.

 

“I’ll get the captain. Wait here,” he said shortly.

 

When Derek saw Kira, he had much the same reaction as Boyd.

 

“And she has no relatives? No one to take care of her?” Derek asked.

 

Isaac shook his head emphatically and opened his mouth to say something but Derek held up a hand to silence him.

 

“Kira,” he said crouching down so he was eye level with the girl, “Do you want to join my crew? You would have to study English with me. Can you read?”

 

Stiles took in the surprised looks of the crew and assumed that Derek must be speaking Kira’s language. Kira’s eyes lit up and excited energy practically jumped off of her small body.

 

“Yes! I can read! I want to join the crew! Please, can I?” she said excitedly.

 

Derek nodded at her solemnly and she ran up and hugged his neck before dancing back to Stiles. The others stared, dumfounded, but Derek was smiling slightly as he stood up and gestured towards the ship.

 

“Let’s get some sleep for now. I need to pick up a few things in the morning then we can set sail.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to have Kira in my story and somehow it became a kidfic? Idk, but I'm laughing at myself now because I originally was going to keep this short. That never seems to work out for me lol.
> 
> ALSO NOGITSUNE!STILES???? UM, EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED????? YES.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really short chapter, but it's Valentine's day and I wanted to get something cute out there :)

Stiles snuck into his normal spot at the back of the deck to call Lydia.

 

“Stiles, it’s been awhile. How have you two been doing?” she asked as soon as her face swirled into focus.

 

“Everything’s been great actually. We’re getting along with everyone and no one knows what we are. Well, except this little girl we just picked up but she promised not to tell anyone,” Stiles said.

 

Lydia pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed like Stiles’s existence was a hardship. Which, um, rude. Stiles was a goddamn gift to this world, ok?

 

“Stiles, I made it explicitly clear than no one should know what you are. How did this happen?” she asked.

 

“Well…we may have gone to a communal bath?” Stiles said hesitantly.

 

Lydia just stared at him.

 

“I’m not even going to comment,” she eventually said, “but if this happens again I’m reversing the spell and dragging you back here myself. This is no joke, all it takes is one slip up and you could have hunters all over you.”

 

Stiles winced. He’d heard stories of merpeople who had been caught and butchered by humans or used for their abilities. The danger of exposure was the whole reason spending too much time near land was taboo. Still, Stiles couldn’t help but feel that Lydia was overreacting.

 

“We’ll be careful, don’t worry,” he said.

 

Lydia tilted her head and searched his expression, eventually nodding and smiling slightly.

 

“So how is Scott doing on the Allison front?” she asked.

 

 =================

Stiles had just finished dumping the blood-stained water over the railing when he heard a familiar huffing sound. He spun around and smiled.

 

“Hey Dog! I haven’t seen you in a few days, where have you been hiding? Oh! Wait here, I have something for you,” he said quickly, darting past the animal who merely sat down and started licking his paw.

 

Stiles ran to the captain’s room and rifled through his small pile of possessions before finding what he was looking for and going back the way he came.

 

Dog looked up at him when he returned, panting from his spring. He tilted his head to the side in curiosity and Stiles grinned, holding up the necklace of shark teeth he found at the market.

 

“I saw this and thought of you. Where I come from, warriors wear shark teeth. My father is a warrior. He once took a great white down all by himself! When I look into your eyes, I see a warrior,” Stiles paused and tilted his head, “You actually remind me of Derek a little bit… Anyway I wanted to get you something so…I don’t know,” Stiles said, running out of steam.

 

Dog stared at him for a moment then moved closer and sat down right in front of Stiles, stretching his neck out a bit. Stiles’s grin returned and he slipped the necklace over the wolf’s head.

 

“It looks awesome,” he said, stepping back to examine his friend.

 

Dog huffed and lunged forward, tackling a laughing Stiles to the ground and licking his face until Stiles managed to push him away. He laughed as he wiped his face with his sleeve then looked at Dog thoughtfully.

 

Stiles crawled over to Dog on his knees and took the animal’s face into his hands. He leaned up and pressed a firm kiss to the wolf’s temple. When he stepped back, Dog was looking at him in confusion.

 

“It means ‘I love you’,” Stiles said, “Scott says he hates when I do it, but secretly he loves it. It’s something I learned from my mom. I don’t really know anyone else who does it though.”

 

Dog looked at him thoughtfully and once again tackled him to the ground, sniffing and licking at Stiles’s neck and face while the boy laughed and scratched his fur.

 

 ===================

Derek was secretly glad that Kira came on board when she did. It gave him an excuse to keep Stiles in his room since there really wasn’t enough room for the both of them in the crew’s quarters and Kira would be more comfortable sleeping with the girls there.

 

He pulled the necklace out from underneath his shirt and ran his fingers along the sharp teeth woven into rope. Even though he had given it to “Dog,” as Stiles was so fond of calling him, Derek still felt warmth in his stomach when he thought about the fact that Stiles had thought to get him something.

 

He quickly stuffed it back into his shirt when he heard light footsteps approaching.

 

Stiles knocked on the door before walking into the room they shared. Derek was glad that he had gotten more comfortable with coming and going. At first, the boy had practically tip-toed around the room like he was terrified of touching anything. Now though, he walked right in and smiled when he saw Derek standing in the center of the room.

 

“Hey captain! Did you eat yet?” he asked cheerfully.

 

“No, I was just going to head down to the galley,” Derek replied.

 

“We can go together; I just came looking for you. Um, uh, I mean…” Stiles floundered, turning red and Derek could barely contain his smile.

 

“Wow, that came out wrong. I mean, I have something for you,” Stiles said, dashing over to the draw that Derek had emptied so Stiles had a place for his things.

 

When he turned around, he was holding a large, light pink shell in his hands.

 

“It’s a conch shell! They’re supposed to be good luck and bring prophetic dreams when someone else finds one for you. I never really believed in that stuff, but Scott swears by it. Anyway, you have so many interesting things in here but no sea shells, so I figured I would find you one,” Stiles said cheerfully, holding out the shell.

 

Derek took the large shell and looked it over. I was actually really amazing.

 

“I’ve never seen these in the market before,” Derek said, looking up at Stiles and waiting for his reaction.

 

Derek was not disappointed as Stiles turned beet red and started gesturing wildly with his hands.

 

“Oh, well, you know. I just happened to find it. You know. I was walking on the beach and it just washed up and I was just really lucky I guess,” he said.

 

Derek hummed and ran his fingers along the shell’s ridges. He placed it gently down on the table and walked up to Stiles, cupping his face and kissing his temple. When he pulled away, Stiles was staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth.

 

“Thank you, Stiles,” Derek said, smiling mischievously and turning to walk out of the room.

 

He made it all the way to the door before he heard Stiles follow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone who commented. I had so much fun writing this and I love getting feedback.

“Ningyo!” Kira shouted.

 

Stiles was on his hands and knees scrubbing the deck and he didn’t even have time to turn his head before he felt Kira leap onto his back, squeezing her arms around his neck.

 

“Kira! How many times have I told you not to call me that?” Stiles asked with no heat in his voice.

 

“Stiles is my ningyo so I call him ningyo!” Kira said stubbornly.

 

Stiles rolled his eyes.

 

“What about Scott?” he asked.

 

Kira froze on his back and he sat up and shuffled them around so Kira was standing in front of him. She was fiddling her fingers and smiling to herself.

 

“Scott is special,” she mumbled.

 

“What?” Stiles gasped, feigning insult, “I’m not special?”

 

Kira shifted her gaze up and shook her head fiercely.

 

“No, you’re my ningyo,” Kira said.

 

Stiles fell to the ground and covered his face with his hands.

 

“Oh, I’m going to cry because Kira doesn’t think I’m special!” he wailed dramatically.

 

Kira laughed joyfully and tugged at his arms, trying to pull his hands away from his face.

 

“Stiles, stop!” she shrieked, giggling.

 

“Kira! Let’s go it’s time for your lessons,” came a voice that Stiles was intimately familiar with.

 

He quickly sat up and smiled nervously at the serious face of Captain Hale.

 

“But I’m playing with Stiles!” Kira whined.

 

Derek lifted and eyebrow and stared at her until she huffed and shuffled over to where he stood. He looked past her to Stiles and smiled slightly before leading Kira away.

 

Stiles smiled to himself as he retrieved his brush and dipped it into the soapy water. Derek seemed to be smiling more and more lately. He didn’t know if it was because he was more comfortable with Stiles or because of something Stiles was doing.

 

He liked to pretend it was the latter. He liked to pretend that Derek got the same butterflies in his stomach that Stiles did when they spoke at night. This all felt like a fairy tale to Stiles. He’d spent so much time watching and wishing—admittedly, that part was probably pretty creepy on his part—and now everything was going so well.

 

He was terrified that it was going to end.

 

 =============================

That evening Stiles ate with Erica, Isaac, and the twins. Ethan and Aiden kept glancing at Stiles and sharing meaningful glances. Isaac didn’t stop smiling, even while he ate and Erica was unusually quiet. After about five minutes of tense silence he couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“Ok, what is it?” he asked.

 

Isaac’s eyes went wide but his smile only grew wider. The twins both looked away from Stiles, their lips twisted into identical smirks. Stiles turned his attention to Erica, who sat with a completely passive affect.

 

“Erica, what is it? Why is everyone acting so weird?” he asked again.

 

She looked at him for a moment before her lips curled into a mischievous smile.  

 

“Don’t worry about it Stiles, you’ll find out later,” she said before ignoring him in favor of her food.

 

Stiles narrowed his eyes at her but let it drop when she continued to ignore him. It was probably something stupid anyway knowing them.

 

 ===========================

Stiles stared down at the wrecked couch in shock. Derek seemed to be at a loss for words as well if his (for once) unguarded expression of distress was anything to go by.

 

“Um…So I guess I’ll sleep on the floor,” Stiles said after a while.

 

Derek looked up at him like Stiles like he forgot that he was even standing there. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

 

“No, there’s enough room on the bed for both of us. We’ll be docking in the next day or two so we can find something to replace this with then,” he said, turning away from the mess of shredded cushions and splintered woods.

 

“What? No, it’s fine, the floor is fine,” Stiles said quickly, conflicted between his desire to be close to Derek and his fear of pissing Derek off.

 

Derek shook his head again.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, just go get ready for bed,” Derek said dismissively.

 

Stiles rushed to the small room that served as a bathroom and shut the door behind him. His heart was pounding in his ears and he felt like he was high. If he wasn’t afraid that Derek would hear him through the door he would call Lydia immediately and share his joy.

 

He wondered why Erica and the others would do this. He couldn’t figure out what the point of destroying the couch was, but at this point he honestly didn’t care. He ran Derek’s reaction through his head as he washed himself off with a wet rag. He seemed pissed, but not overly so. Stiles would just have to be careful to give him his space while they slept.

 

 =========================

Derek thought he was going to have a heart attack when he saw the state of the couch in his room. He immediately knew who did this. It had Erica written all over it. She had been hinting that he should act on his interest in Stiles for the last three weeks.

 

He never should have told her that Stiles was the one who gave him the conch shell on his dresser. She took one look at him and just knew how happy it had made him. She’d been a girl on a mission ever since.

 

This though, this was an extreme move. Derek’s wolf was overjoyed by the idea of sharing a bed with Stiles, but Derek had no idea how he was going to sleep a wink when the boy was so close yet out of reach.

 

“Um…So I guess I’ll sleep on the floor,” Stiles said suddenly.

 

Derek almost jumped, having completely lost track of the fact that Stiles was _right there._ He ran a hand through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts.

 

“No, there’s enough room on the bed for both of us. We’ll be docking in the next day or two so we can find something to replace this with then,” he said, turning away from Stiles so that he couldn’t see the red tint his cheeks. 

 

“What? No, it’s fine, the floor is fine,” Stiles said quickly.

 

Derek’s wolf whined pitifully at the rejection but he shoved down the reaction.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, just go get ready for bed,” he said dismissively.

 

Stiles almost ran to the bathroom after that, leaving Derek alone to try and calm his racing heart.

 

 =============================

When they both crawled into the large king bed, there was enough space between them for another person to fit. Regardless, Derek could still feel the warmth radiating from the body next to his. He could hear his quick heartbeat and his shallow breaths which eventually slowed and evened out into the rhythm of sleep.

 

He doubted very much that he would be able to find sleep himself, but at some point he must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, it was morning and he was curled around a still sleeping Stiles.

 

Derek remained still, trying to figure out how he could extract himself from this situation without waking Stiles. He was about to just pull away when Stiles made a noise in his sleep and threw an arm around Derek’s waist, cuddling into his chest.

 

Derek felt his brain short circuit. Giving up, he relaxed and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of rosemary and the sea. It was heady, Stiles’s scent. He nuzzled at the top of his head, pressing a kiss forehead.

 

Then he felt movement and he panicked, pulling away only to be stopped by a firm grip on the back of his head.

 

Stiles looked up at Derek, his eyes still heavy with sleep and pressed a kiss to his lips. Then he seemed to realize what he was doing because he pulled back and his eyes went wide as he sat up.

 

“Oh shit, I’m sorry, that was…” Stiles started in a panic.

 

Derek ignored him, taking his face into his hands and pulling him back into a kiss. Stiles made a shocked sound before practically melting against Derek, throwing his arms around his waist and pulling him closer.

 

When Derek pulled away, Stiles just stared at him with a small, dazed smile. Derek’s smile was so wide it almost hurt and he pressed another quick kiss to Stiles’s lips before moving off the bed.

 

“Come on, we should go eat something. There’s a lot to do before we dock,” he said, pulling on a new shirt and running his fingers through his hair to get rid of his bed head.

 

Stiles didn’t say anything, gaped at him as he moved around the room.

 

“Besides,” he added, “Erica’s probably got a pool going so if we don’t go down soon she’ll probably come up here to see what we’re up to.”

 

Stiles’s eyes widened, finally realizing what Erica was up to with her prank. He scrambled off the bed and threw on his clothes and shoes.

 

“So…is this gonna be like, a thing?” Stiles asked gesturing between Derek and himself.

 

Derek raised his eyebrows.

 

“Do you want it to be a thing?”

 

Stiles nodded hesitantly.

 

“Yes? Yes I do?” he said like it was a question.

 

Derek smiled and shrugged his shoulder.

 

“Then it’s a thing,” he said simply.

 

Stiles jumped into the air and ran right into Derek, giving him a suffocating hug.

 

“Yes! Oh my god, I have to tell Scott and Lydia,” he said joyfully.

 

Derek tilted his head in confusion.

 

“Who is Lydia?” he asked.

 

Stiles suddenly released his arms and backed away, looking at everything but Derek. How did such a terrible liar manage to fool the rest of his crew for over a month? Maybe some more training was in order…

 

“Lydia? She’s um, a friend. From…where I come from,” Stiles said lamely.

 

Derek hummed in lieu of an answer. Lydia must be the person he spoke with when he filled the bowl he carried around with water. He wondered whether he should tell Stiles that he knew what he was, but then he would have to explain that he was also on a ship full of werewolves and who knew if the boy would even stay should his secret get out.

 

Derek loved the sea, but he was kind of beginning to love Stiles too, and he didn’t want to lose him to the sea for anything.

 ===========================

 

“Stiles…Stiles…hey Stiles,” Isaac said the second he, Erica, and Stiles entered the quiet forest on the outskirts of the fishing village they docked at.

 

Stiles sighed. All day, Isaac and Erica had been taking turns trying to figure out what happened the night before. Ethan and Aiden had backed down as soon as Derek glared at them, but these two were persistent.

 

“What, Isaac,” Stiles said in annoyance.

 

“Did you have a good night’s sleep?” Isaac asked innocently.

 

“Yes, despite the fact that you demolished my bed,” Stiles said grumpily.

 

Isaac didn’t seem bothered by his attitude.

 

“Did anything…fun happen last night? Did you and Derek…connect at all?” he asked.

 

Stiles ignored him and trudged through the thick underbrush.

 

“How far is this place anyway?” he asked.

 

“You know if you ignore me I’m going to assume that you did,” Isaac said.

 

“It’s not much farther. They’re meeting us halfway, just keep your eyes out for a pond,” Erica replied.

 

“Sounds good,” Stiles said.

 

“Stiles, don’t ignore me! I wanna know!” Isaac whined.

 

“Holy shit! What is that?!” Stiles hissed, jumping back and pointing toward the clearing they were nearing.

 

“…Are you serious?” Erica asked, looking at Stiles like he had just escaped a nut house.

 

“It’s just a deer, why are you freaking out?” Isaac said, laughing a little at his reaction.

 

“Deer? Is it dangerous?” Stiles asked, refusing to move forward while the beast stared at him with its beady black eyes.

 

“Oh for gods’ sakes,” Erica said, grabbing Stiles by the arm and dragging him forward, “It’s literally the most harmless animal in this whole damn forest.”

 

That didn’t necessarily make Stiles feel better, but he figured if he kept struggling they would get suspicious so he reluctantly followed Erica into the clearing. To his immense relief, the ‘deer’ bolted into the tree line before they could even reach it.

 

Erica shook her head and muttered to herself while Isaac just laughed it off. No one else was there yet so the three sat down by the edge of the pond. Stiles was entranced by how still the water was. He wondered how anything survived in something so stagnant.

 ===============================

They waited for almost two hours before anyone showed up. When they did, Stiles was immediately on guard. Their contact was two men, both heavily armed and both almost twice his size. They walked with an air of confidence that felt almost aggressive.

 

Erica and Isaac walked forward to meet them and Stiles trailed behind, keeping his crew-mates between him and the two men.

 

“Erica, good to see you again. I trust you have the documents I’ve been looking for,” one of the men said with a strange, guttural accent.

 

“Of course,” Erica replied, slipping a stack of rolled up parchment out of her bag.

 

The man reached for it and she quickly pulled it behind her back, still smiling.

 

“The payment, if you please,” she said sweetly.

 

“Quite the businesswoman she is, huh?” the second man said, laughing and holding up a drawstring purse.

 

Isaac grabbed it and checked the contents before nodding to Erica.

 

“Well, here’s your order then. Is there anything else you’d like us to retrieve for you?” she asked, handing over the parchment.

 

The first man took the bundle and tucked it into his own bag before looking at his partner thoughtfully.

 

“Not at the moment no…” he said, his eyes suddenly landing on Stiles.

 

Stiles tensed up as the man narrowed his eyes.

 

“A new crew member?” he asked.

 

“Oh, sorry. I almost forgot,” Erica said, moving aside so that Stiles was no longer behind her.

 

“Stiles, this is Karsten and Lenz,” she said, gesturing at each man in turn, “They collect rare documents and items. We’ve been in business with them for a few years now. Karsten, Lenz, this is Stiles.”

 

The first man, Karsten, stepped forward and Stiles resisted the urge to step back. He held his hand out and Stiles took it hesitantly.

 

Suddenly the man grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, shoving both his and Stiles’s hand against Stiles’s throat. He said something but Stiles couldn’t hear him over the sudden ringing in his ears.

 

The world tilted and Stiles sank to his knees as his stomach churned and he coughed up all of its contents. He could hear nothing over the ringing in his ears and when he finally opened his eyes, he realized that he hadn’t thrown up his food, but a gooey green substance that looked sickeningly familiar. _No!_

 

He grasped what was happening right before the world came rushing back. Voices filled his ears but he couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were saying. There was something sharp pressed up against his throat and he was painfully aware of how dry he was. His entire body screamed for water and he struggled as best he could in Karsten’s tight hold.

 

Erica was shouting something and Isaac was inching closer and closer to where they stood. The man shouted something back and Erica threw her head back and howled before whole body shifted into a russet brown wolf.

 

Stiles gaped, unsure of whether this was actually happening or he was still under whatever spell broke Lydia’s. He lost track of Erica when another wolf tackled Karsten from the side, sending Stiles tumbling down with him.

 

He heard fierce growling as the wolf tore into the man. He screamed and stabbed his blade into the wolf’s shoulder, dragging it down until blood soaked the oaken fur. The wolf roared and bit down on the man’s neck, shaking his head until the body went limp.

 

Stiles looked over and saw Erica tearing into the other man’s chest with her claws. When he looked back over, Isaac was standing a few feet away from him, totally naked and staring in shock.

 

They stared at each other silently for a few moments before Isaac asked him something.

 

“I can’t understand you. Isaac, I need water! Help me get to the water!” he said, pointing desperately at the pond.

 

Isaac’s eyebrows furrowed and he said something else. Erica shouted something across the clearing and Isaac nodded, lifting Stiles and walking him over to the pond.

 

When his scales touched the water, Stiles’s felt relief so intense that it was almost a high. He dipped his whole body into the stifling water before dragging himself back up onto the grass.

 

Erica and Isaac had both retrieved their clothes—torn, but somewhat passable—and were staring down at him in awe.

 

Erica asked him something and Stiles shrugged and shook his head to indicate that he couldn’t understand her. She looked thoughtful then said something to Isaac before running into the woods towards the village.

 

Isaac said something to Stiles that sounded like it was supposed to be reassuring.

 

“I don’t understand you!” Stiles said.

 

Isaac looked frustrated then got up and disappeared into the tree line. Stiles was terrified that he had left him there for good when he popped back into the clearing with a stick in his hand. He sat down next to Stiles and started drawing a ship in a patch of dirt. He stopped and gestured at Stiles then himself and drew a long arrow pointing to the ship.

 

So they were trying to get him back to the ship?

 

“Erica?” he asked.

 

Isaac rubbed out his drawing and started drawing tables with objects on them and stick people all around. She was going to the market? Why?

 

His question must have shown in his expression because Isaac rubbed out that drawing and drew a square. Stiles stared down at it, expecting there to be more. He looked up at Isaac and shook his head.

 

Isaac huffed and looked down at the dirt thoughtfully. He erased the squared and drew a stick figure with a tail. Ok, so that was him. Then he drew a square covering the figure’s tail.

 

…A blanket? Or something to hide Stiles’s tail.

 

Stiles nodded and splashed more water on himself before laying back on the grass. Isaac was quiet next to him, muttering a comment to himself once in a while. He reached his hand out slowly and Stiles looked at him curiously. He looked really hesitant, but it seemed like he wanted to touch his tail.

 

Stiles sighed and grabbed his wrist, bringing it the rest of the way down until his hand brushed against scale. Isaac flattened his palm against him and let out a noise of awe. He ran his fingers along the ridges of his scales for a little while before standing up abruptly and taking a few steps back, shucking his clothes as he went.

 

Just like Erica did before, he shifted into a wolf. Stiles sat up and stared at him with wide eyes as he moved closer and sat down, tilting his head to the side. Stiles laughed because the movement reminded him so much of Dog.

 

He sunk his fingers in Isaac’s fur and hummed in contentment when Isaac moved even closer and lay down next to him.

 =============================

Stiles was dozing off, his face pillowed on Isaac’s furry side when he heard Erica shout something from the tree line. He lifted his head and saw that she carried a bundle of grey material in her arms.

 

Isaac gently slid out from underneath him and shifted back into a human, pulling on his pants and shirt as he answered Erica. Stiles slid back into the pond, and swam a few quick laps to really get the water flowing through his gills. He never realized how painful it was to spend so much time out of the water and he wondered a bit desperately what was going to happen to him when he they got back to La Luna.

 

Even if they didn’t hate him for lying about what he was all this time, there was no way he could stay on board with Lydia’s spell broken. Stiles was a long way from home. He didn’t know these waters and he had no weapons and he wasn’t even sure if he could find his way home on his own.

 

“Stiles!” Isaac called, breaking him from his inner turmoil.

 

Stiles flailed as Isaac scooped him into his arms. He awkwardly held on to Isaac’s shoulders as he walked a few feet and deposited him onto a grey blanket laid out on the ground. Stiles tried to sit up but Isaac pushed him flat on his back with a hand on his chest.

 

Erica said something which made Isaac laugh and Stiles narrowed his eyes at her. She smiled back at him innocently but he wasn’t fooled for a second.

 

Isaac tucked the ends of the blanket around his body so that he was completely wrapped up from neck to tail. He reached out to pick Stiles up again and he wigged fiercely in protest.

 

“Wait! Wait! Wet the blanket first! It’s to scratch; it hurts!” Stiles said quickly.

 

Isaac just crouched over him looking confused and Stiles huffed. He squirmed until he could get on of his arms free and pointed emphatically to the pond. Isaac looked at the pond then back at Stiles, his expression no less confused.

 

Erica made a sound of understanding and picked Stiles up like he weighed nothing, walking right into the pond and dunking him under the water. When she lifted him back out and handed him over to Isaac, the blanket was completely soaked through and Stiles felt less like his scales were going to fall off.

 

He watched Erica climb out of the water—her pants soaked all the way up to her thighs—and muttered his thanks. Erica must’ve known what he meant because she smiled sweetly at him and pat him on the head as if he were a child.

 

If he were cocooned in a wet blanket he probably would have pushed her back into the pond. As it was, he could only slap her hand away and frown at her. She laughed as she walked away and Stiles mumbled to himself that he could always get her back later. Well…hopefully.

 

Erica and Isaac talked on the way back to the village. Stiles grew more and more anxious the closer they got, the gravity of the situation setting in. Holy shit, Derek was going to hate him! They had just become a ‘thing’ and all of Stiles’s dreams were supposed to be coming true and now it was just all for nothing! He ruined his one shot on land and Scott was going to hate him for ruining his chances with Allison and his dad was REALLY going to kill him for exposing himself to humans and…

 

Erica slapped a hand on Stiles’s mouth and held a finger to her lips. Oh, so he’d said that out loud. Even though he knew they didn’t understand anything he said, Stiles blushed, embarrassed over his outburst.

 

Erica looked at him hard before removing her hand. She said something quickly to Isaac before running ahead and disappearing into the trees.

 

“Where’s she going? Is she going to tell everyone what happened? Oh my god is she going to…”

 

Isaac made a loud shushing sound and Stiles bit his lip, trying to keep his panic quiet. Isaac must’ve noticed because he said something that sounded like it was supposed to be reassuring. Stiles clung to the hope that Isaac wasn’t carrying Stiles back to his doom and started counting in his head to keep himself calm.

 ----------------------------------

He had counted to 956 when they reached the dock. His breath became shorter and faster as Isaac made his way up the gangplank and it only made the fire in his throat worse. He shut his eyes when they made it to the deck of the ship in a last ditch effort to pretend that this wasn’t happening.

 

He felt Isaac walk across the deck, responding to Boyd and then to Allison when they called out to him. Isaac put him down and untangled him from the blanket. He stopped breathing as he waited for a reaction. His eyes flew open when he was suddenly lifted up again and placed back down in a pool of water.

 

Stiles blinked at Isaac in amazement before looking down. Someone, probably Erica, had dragged a lifeboat onto the main deck and filled it with water. Stiles decided that if he made it through this, he wouldn’t take revenge on her for her teasing.

 

“Stiles!” Scott shouted.

 

Stiles looked up and felt a surge of guilt as his best friend ran up to him.

 

“Stiles, what happened? Are you ok?” he asked frantically.

 

Stiles nodded.

 

“I don’t know what happened. Somehow this guy we were meeting with broke Lydia’s spell! Dude, I’m so sorry, I should have been more careful,” he said mournfully.

 

Scott shook his head and held out his fist. Stiles smiled slightly and touched his knuckles to Scott’s. The sound of Allison asking something snapped them back to reality and Scott twisted around, responding to her hesitantly.

 

Stiles scanned the deck. Boyd, Erica, and Allison were all standing nearby, their attention on Scott. Isaac was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Ningyo!” a shrill voice cried.

Stiles watched Kira run across the deck to his life boat, Isaac trailing behind her. She stopped in front of him and said something excitedly, gesturing at him with her hands. He looked up at Scott in confusion.

 

“She wants to know why you ‘put on your tail’ without telling her,” he said, grinning.

 

Kira’s attention snapped to Scott when he spoke and she shifted her weight and looked down at her shoes. Stiles smiled at both her words and her reaction.

 

“Tell her it was an accident, otherwise I would have told her first,” he said.

 

Scott relayed the message and Kira looked up at him with wide eyes, staring even after he finished speaking. After a moment she seemed to remember that she had been talking to Stiles because she blinked and turned her attention back to him, walking up the edge of the lifeboat.

 

She looked down at his tail for a few seconds before sliding her arm into the water and running the flat of her palm along the sleek scales. She made a smile of amazement and Stiles looked up at Scott with amusement.

 

Kira drew the attention of the rest of the crew and they all moved closer. It was fairly obvious by their envious looks that they actually also wanted to touch his tail. Stiles chuckled to himself because that was exactly how he felt when he saw Erica and Isaac change.

 

He frown when he thought about it. Did everyone know about Erica and Isaac? And were they the only ones, or did the rest of the crew have the ability to change into wolves also?

 

Stiles heard a familiar voice call out from across the deck and he felt tension surge through his whole body. He refused to look, afraid of what expression he might see. Scott moved aside and Stiles saw another set of feet move beside Kira.

 

He steeled himself to face whatever Derek was going to…and there was a bowl in his face.

 

Stiles blinked in surprise and looked up. Derek was looking down at him expectantly, waiting for Stiles to take the bowl. He did so, hesitantly and looked down at it. Calling Lydia would be the best thing to do at the moment, but how did Derek even know about that?

 

He looked back at Derek in confusion but Derek only gestured at the bowl again. Bewildered, he dipped the bowl into the water and was just about to lift his hand to bite his finger when the hilt of a dagger was shoved in front of him.

 

He blinked dumbly and looked back up at Derek, slowly accepting the blade. Derek just shifted his weight and crossed his arms, his expression neutral.

 

Stiles shook his head and pricked his finger, letting the blood drop into the bowl. The red swirled around for a few seconds before Lydia came into view. She stared at him hard for a few seconds before sighing deeply.

 

“Stiles…what did you do?” she asked wearily.

 

Stiles made an offended noise.

 

“I didn’t do anything! Some dude made me puke up your magic goo!” he said indignantly.

 

Lydia sighed again and rubbed her temple.

 

“Ok, who else is with you right now?” she asked.

 

“Well Scott…and Allison and Derek and most of the crew,” he said quickly.

 

Lydia groaned.

 

“God, Stiles, it hasn’t even been two months!” she whined.

 

Stiles scowled down at her. Two months was a long time, ok?

 

“Alright. How is everyone reacting to this?” she asked.

 

Stiles looked up. Scott was glancing worriedly at Allison while the rest of the crew were all staring intently at him with a mix of curiosity and awe. Derek…was smirking at him.

 

“I think they’re cool with it,” he said, surprise coloring his words.

 

Lydia hummed.

 

“And how have you and Derek been doing?” she asked.

 

Stiles floundered at the unexpected question.

 

“Um, well, we kind of kissed and basically started going out but that was before I sprouted a tail so I’m not so sure that’s still on the table,” he replied.

 

Lydia looked at him thoughtfully.

 

“There is something I can do from here to get you back into a human body, but it would require Derek’s cooperation,” she said, sounding amused.

 

“Seriously?! What is it?” Stiles asked excitedly.

 

Lydia smiled angelically and tilted her head.

 

“I can facilitate a Transference,” she said sweetly.

 

Stiles blinked at her.

 

“That’s just a legend,” he said slowly.

 

Lydia winked and her smile grew wider.

 

“All legends are based on fact. You’re lucky enough to know the one woman in all the seas who can successfully perform the ritual,” she said.

 

Stiles’s thoughts began to race. His mother had told him stories about merpeople who fell in love with humans and were able to go live on land with them and bring them to the sea when the legendary Sorcerer, Titan, cast a spell of Transference just before they…

 

“Wait! Would we have to be Bonded for this to work?!” Stiles asked.

 

“Well, I did say you needed Derek’s cooperation…” Lydia answered, smirking at him.

 

Stiles blushed and looked up at Scott who was staring down at him with wide eyes.

 

“Dude, I don’t even know how to ask him…” Stiles said.

 

Scott’s expression suddenly grew serious.

 

“Is this what you want? Because I’ll leave with you right now if it’s not. Bonding is for life, man,” he said.

 

Stiles’s heart swelled. He was glad that Scott would give up on Allison just for him, but honestly there was something about Derek that just seemed right. He had felt something spark the first time he saw him and actually spending time with him had only validated that feeling.

 

“Yeah, it’s what I want,” he said firmly.

 

Scott nodded and turned to Derek, speaking to him in a serious tone. Derek listened intently, his face never changing. He asked a few questions and Scott responded to each of them. Finally, Scott turned back to Stiles, smiling.

 

“He says he’ll do it,” Scott said.

 

Stiles gaped at him.

 

“And he understand what Bonding means?” he asked to be sure.

 

“Yeah. He says he was going to ask you something similar? I don’t know what he meant by that though,” Scott replied.

 

Stiles shook his head.

 

“I lied to him this whole time. About what I am, why I’m here. How can he want to bond with someone he can’t even trust?” Stiles whined, distressed.

 

Derek asked Scott something and he turned to respond. Derek’s eyebrows rose at Scott’s words and he started laughing. Stiles stared at him, dumbfounded. He felt heat in his chest as anger began to rise. Why would he laugh at something like this?

 

Derek walked closer to the life boat and kneeled down so that he was eye-level with Stiles. He continued to smile at him despite his glare as he reached into his shirt and pulled out…a shark tooth necklace? Why did he have that? Stiles had given it to…oh. Stiles looked at Derek with wide eyes.

 

Derek cupped his face and pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead. Stiles was suddenly so overwhelmed with emotion that he felt like he was going to cry. So Derek knew what he was all this time and he still…

 

He pressed his fingers to his forehead in amazement.

 

“Precious as that was,” Lydia interrupted, “I have everything all set on my end so all you need to do is Bond.”

 

Stiles nodded and looked at Derek to be sure that he was really ok with this. Derek nodded his consent and Stiles laid his palm against his heart. He calmed his mind and found that center of power inside of him, drawing it out and weaving it into the song he needed.

 

Derek stiffened against his hand even before he began singing. Stiles could feel both of their souls, connected but separate. He drew them closer and closer until they merged and tangled together. When they separated, a solid thread connected them together.

 

When his song ended, Stiles could feel the formed Bond between them.

 

“So you were Dog the whole time, huh?” he asked.

 

Derek, who had been looking down at his own chest, looked up at him in amazement.

 

“And language skills come with Bonding?” he asked in turn.

 

“That would be the Transference, actually,” Lydia said, sounding bored, “You’re welcome and please try to avoid any more crisis situations.”

 

Stiles watched her image dissipate in shock. She could speak human languages this whole time?

 

Derek shook his head and lifted Stiles out of the impromptu tub. Before he could even put him down, Stiles’s tail began to separate into legs.

 

“Yes! It worked!” Stiles whooped.

 

He was about to hug Derek when a pair of pants smacked him in the face.

 

“Yeah, yeah, put on some clothes Ariel,” Erica said.

 

Stiles looked at her confused before sliding the pants on.

 

“Who?” he asked.

 

“Oh my god, everything makes so much more sense now!” Isaac said.

 

Boyd grunted in agreement and Stiles wasn’t really sure what that was supposed to mean.

 

“Ningyo! Can you understand me now? Your voice is pretty when you sing. Will you sing for me sometimes? It’s pretty when you in talk in that weird language too. Can you teach me some words? Derek says I’m good at picking up language so it shouldn’t be too hard…”

 

Stiles looked down at Kira and laughed.

 

“Yes, Kira, I can understand you. And yes I can sing for you whenever you want. We can try to teach you some of my language once you learn English, ok?” he replied.

 

“Ok!” Kira shouted gleefully.

 

“Kira, why don’t you get something to eat with Scott and the others and we can practice some more after ok?” Derek said.

 

Kira looked at Scott and nodded vigorously, blushing when he took her hand in his and headed towards the galley. Boyd and Allison followed but Isaac and Erica stayed behind.

 

“Go on you two. You can bombard Stiles with questions later. And no eavesdropping,” Derek said sternly before leading Stile to his room with a hand on his back.

 

 ----------------------------------------

“You knew what I was before we even asked to join your crew?” Stiles asked when they were alone together.

 

Derek nodded.

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Stiles asked.

 

Derek sighed and sat down on the bed.

 

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure why you wanted to join us and I was so curious about you but I didn’t want to scare you away,” Derek said.

 

Stiles thought about that for a moment.

 

“If you want to know the truth, Scott and I have been watching your ship come and go for about three years now. I was kind of morbidly fascinated by you,” Stiles said, blushing furiously.

 

Derek smiled toothily and Stiles could suddenly see the predator in him.

 

“You know, I would get this weird feeling coming to port sometimes. I got the same feeling that night I first met you in my wolf form; it’s why I waited to see if you would come closer,” he said.

 

“Was it a good feeling?” Stiles asked hesitantly.

 

“It felt like a spark of electricity. It was jolting but pleasant,” Derek said thoughtfully.

 

Stiles laughed softly and sat down on the bed next to Derek, resting his head on his shoulder.

 

“What did you mean when you said you were going to ask me something similar?” Stiles asked after a few peaceful moments.

 

Derek stiffened and when Stiles glanced up he saw that his cheeks were flushed.

 

“For werewolves, finding a mate is instinctual. You see them and you just know. I knew that you were my mate the moment I met you; I just didn’t want to scare you away,” Derek said hesitantly.

 

Stiles laughed.

 

“Dude, I stalked you for three years. If anyone should be scared away it’s you,” he said.

 

Derek laughed and toppled Stiles onto the bed, crawling over him and kissing him sweetly.

 

“You’re gonna have to come meet my dad, you know. I need something to lessen the blow-up that this whole adventure will surely cause,” Stiles said quietly against Derek’s lips.

 

Derek hummed and pressed light kisses to Stiles’s lips.

 

“We can go as soon as we get back to the mainland,” he said, laughing lightly.

 

Stiles smiled and hugged Derek as tightly as he could. He thought about all the stories his mother used to tell and all the times she took him to the shore. For the first time in all the years he had been saying it, Stiles truly believed that angels danced on the shoreline because somehow, they had brought him a miracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now all I need in my life is a Sterek fanvid set to the broadway version of "Kiss the Girl." Why hasn't it been done yet??? It is clearly a necessity.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at [tumblr!!!](http://xodanielleox.tumblr.com/) :)


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